Here we are..another day :) But THIS day involves SUN! And a wee bit of warmth! Ok, it's not really warm. But it's not freezing. And it's progress people, it's progress. Before long I will be sitting on my back patio with ice tea, in a tank top that's too small matched with shorts that are too tight, BBQ smokin, and telling Chris, "It's kinda hot..we better go inside." THAT WILL BE FAB!!

Can't decide if I'm gonna do a Cinco De Mayo party this year. It would be the first year in a long time we don't do it, but I'm just not sure I want to. I mean I want to, but do I WANT to. I'll think about it. I'd rather have it than go somewhere else to have it. But last years brought so much stress, even though it turned out great. Maybe I'll scale it down and just make everything on my own instead of having to rely on others to do things. That's where my stress always comes in. I don't want the help but everyone always wants to help. Which only makes it worse for me even though they think they are making it easier. I'm talking in circles..thinking out loud..let's move on.

J is having fun with plastic bugs. He's got them all spread out on the carpet behind me. I'm not real into that whole deal, but I keep quiet. It's his joy, who am I to steal it.

We're prolly havin nachos for dinner. Can't decide. Chris said nachos or tacos..to me I can't see the difference between the two..both are delish and involve the same ingredients.

I'm feeling a bit better today than I was yesterday (or whenever the last blog was). Had some good worship time on the way to work this morning..good start to a long day. Also got a super good devo from Pastor Laurie today. Passed it on to a few folk..if you want it and didn't get it let me know.

Well, I'm afraid I don't have much to share. Oh..I did talk to Mom. She said that the doctors think they can just do spot radiation on Al's L5 (section of his spine) and hopefully that will help. I guess Jackie took him into the ER last night, he was in excruciating pain, none of the drugs they were giving him were helping at all. She thought she was gonna lose him. But, he's still here. Thank God. And, from the sounds of it, not in as much pain so that's a good thing.

I'm off to assist with dinner and hopefully steal a QUIET moment with my man while we brown the meat and shred the cheese for our din din.

Love you love you

I'm exhausted. People look at me, not sure if they should approach (truly). I quickly do my task, wherever/whatever it may be, and then quietly slink out as not to be noticed, bothered, talked to or smiled at. I just want to be done, go home, be swallowed up in my husbands arms, feel his lips kiss mine, tuck the kids in, hug the dog & tell her how much Momma loves her, go to bed and SLEEP.

Today I ran non-stop from 7am until after 9pm. Spent most of Bible study tonight fighting sleep and tears. Chris had to shove me to make me open my eyes and lovingly reminded me that I was not allowed to sleep through the study. Ok honey, I won't. No reflection on pastor of course..we're in Revelation right now and it's riveting, honestly. But my body is just not wanting to cooperate.

Val and I are going to hike up and down Tablerock in April. She asked if I'd go, and so I will. It may kill me, but I will. I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm going to wear depends just in case I lose all bodily functions..which is highly likely. :)

Mom called tonight before church and let me know that our friend Al (he married us and my parents) who has been like a father to my parents, and a grandfather to us kids (he and his wife are our Godparents) got a "bad" diagnosis..his prostate cancer has now spread to his spine. He's in quite a bit of pain, but of course, has a great attitude. He first found out he had cancer just a few days after he married Chris and I in 1995. He's been fighting it off and on since then. They are going to get him on radiation again and maybe some chemo again. Breaks my heart. Absolutely breaks it. The only thing that makes this better is that through everything he only loves the Lord more. And that shall he lose this battle on earth, he will win the battle spiritually and spend eternity with our Father in Heaven. And, that one day we will see each other again. But, please be praying for him..and for the rest of us..and especially for his wife, Jackie.

I got an update from Tina on Mercy. She is gaining some feeling back in her legs and feet but in the form of excruciating pain. Tina says that depression is something Mercy is fighting right now, as is to be expected. I'm sure that becoming paralyzed is much like mourning a death. Because in a sense, it is. So..please be praying for her, too.

Chris and Ash are still sick and now J is feeling icky too. I'm still doing well. Taking all of my vitamins like a good girl and drinking lots of water.

Swede (my friend and counselor) asked me the other night while we were chatting on Facebook when I'm going to let him help me get "in shape"..biking, running, etc. I wanted to say, "Promptly after I castrate you." But, I didn't. I just said a firm "NEVER". And then we continued to fight back and forth until I agreed to a walk around the park :) (If you're reading this, Swede, I would never castrate you. haha) Anyway, his main goal is to get me to sweat because he knows that I have a huge sweat phobia. I absolutely hate sweat and sweatING. He's like my brother in that he does bike racing and skiing and all that crazy crap. It makes me tired to think of it. I love that he enjoys it. But I truly don't believe that all of us need to enjoy the same things. I told him that I'd be more than happy to sweat with him as we hammer the tar out of tiles in the summer to make mosaics. He didn't reply. hmm


After talking with him, as usual, I am emotionally drained. That man has a way of ripping your whole world apart while you're both laughing..and you don't realize he's done it till 5 minutes after you've left his presence. As he says, he enjoys my pain. ;) But, it's good..he's always making me stretch. His 3 questions for me are always:

1. How is your heart? (no one word answers allowed..believe me, I've tried)
2. 3 part question: What are you doing to grow spiritually, emotionally and physically?
3. What are you're goals to make your life even BETTER and MORE exciting?

Some might think..well you could easily BS through those questions. Um, if you think that, then you haven't met Swede. LOL

So, I answered the questions for him..and now I'm searching myself to see where I am truly growing..where I am becoming stagnant..and where I am moving backwards. Ugh..tears well up in my eyes instantly just thinking about it.. It could be the exhaustion. I'm just not sure I have any more energy to devote to anything, much less myself. That's not a pity party, it's just true. I'm all tapped out.

But, just when I feel I have no more to give, I am reminded that I need to go back to the well for my filling. If I am feeling empty, it is because I have not taken the time to fill my cup with The Word. Yes, I read my Bible daily. But, do I really devote time to being filled or do I just read the words. Sometimes, I just read the words. And it is when I let those "sometimes" turn into "most of the times" that I find myself empty. So..as Stephen Curtis Chapman would say, "I'm divin in". No earthly thing can fill me like my Savior can fill me. And, as the world and those around me continually fail me time and time again and in mass numbers..there is One who will never and has never failed me. And that is my Jesus. Never once. So where else would I possibly turn, but to Him. He's never left, he's still here.

Jason Upton says in one of his songs (it's a longer quote, but I'll just write part of it), "It's like the Father's saying, I'm in the same place now as I was the first time I called you. I'm not moving around, I'm right here." We just have to take that step. He's just one step away, and if we will be willing to take that step into His presence, all of the outside worries and concern will melt away. But we (I) get so caught up in the day to day living that I let that simple truth be washed away. How silly I am.

I love these lyrics:

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

--------

The part that got me the other morning was: "Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough." Ouch. I mean I'll just let that grab you as it does. I don't need to put my thoughts into it. Just ponder it. It's pretty heavy stuff.

I find that a question I feel He asks me often is "Why" WHY do you want that...WHY are you striving for that...WHY did you let that bother you..WHY are you holding onto that..WHY don't you let Me do that..and I have to say that the answers usually come pretty quickly. Because, if I truly am focused on HIM (the Father) and HIS word, the rest of my life falls into place. It is when I go off on my own that I run into hurts and troubles and frustrations. It's like me trying to perform surgery on someone. I have no business doing it, that's why we let the professionals do it. They are much better equipped to perform surgery than we are. Same thing with life..why are we constantly trying to prove that we can do it all on our own, when we are simply not qualified to do so? *sigh* Human nature I suppose.

Anyway..I've chatted long enough. It's 10:27 and I have no idea if I'm even awake at this moment.

I love you..now is not the time to get comfortable in your life..don't let yourself get in the way of all that He has planned for you. His plans are much better than yours..why settle for a mediocre life when you can have a FABULOUS life in Him?

g'night.

Ran into Aunt Diane at Winco this afternoon, how fun was that! We always run into Renee (her daughter) there, so it was kinda funny. ANyway, we had a good chat in the produce aisle and then later in the store she scared the sin right out of me in one of the other aisles.

I needed to get fresh berries for the cake Chris is making with the kids tonight (J brought home the recipe), and then for the cake I am making for my bro and Laura. We're having a combo party for them. Matt wanted white cake with white frosting..so I'm making that. We decided on that before it became a combo party so I don't know what kind of cake Laura would have preferred. SO, I'm making chocolate covered strawberries, too. BUT, I am getting off track. What I wanted to tell you was that Winco had NO berries of ANY kind. NOTHING. Weird, right? I had to go to Pauls to get them. Just what I want to do after grocery shopping, go to ANOTHER store. Lame. But, I got them and they're pretty and no doubt much better than anything Winco would have offered had they not been too busy sucking.

Carolyn is comin into town tonight, yay!! Looking forward to spending time with her. She'll be there for the bday party tomorrow obviously, and then we're hoping to have a lot of time with her this weekend, too. Haven't seen her in a year or so I think. Maybe a bit longer.

Anyhoo..decided I need a break from Facebook. Too much time. Annoying. I'll go back to it next week but I'm taking tomorrow and the weekend off. It's so much more difficult to try to find everything that's going on there. Myspace it's just a quick sign in and you can easily see what's up and then sign off should you choose. Facebook takes 15 minutes to get through all the random crap to see what anyone's really doing beyond planting trees and adopting forests and feeding fish and whatever else they can find to do to get them back to adolescence. Not that I haven't engaged a few times myself. ;) haha

Today was SO slow at work. It crawwwwwwwled. Hoping sales pick up, and quick. We've been doing really well but today..good Lord did we tank. I was able to get caught up on quite a few things and then do a couple extra things that they have been wanting me to do. I still have tons of stuff to catch up on but hopefully we will get busier and I won't have the time! I'd rather be behind and in a job than all caught up and fired. :)

Chris made a delish dinner tonight..tortellini's with zucchini, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, celery and possibly something else. Anyway, I love it that way. Then we had salad and french bread. Yum :)

Well, I better go. J's comin down to read to me and then we have to study Bible Quiz together. Saturday is his last quiz for the year! Or..for the sort of year. It's kind of like school..starts back up after school gets back in, or sometime around there.

Have a great night! Love ya

My dog is beautiful.

We had a delish dinner tonight. Turkey burgers with bacon and cheeeeeese and potato salad. :) I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doin and added too much mustard and a bit too much mayo..Dave would love it. I had to eat quickly to keep from gagging. But, never fear, I'll be down there tonight getting a big bowl of it. :)

Had a long HOT shower tonight..contemplated being an Avon consultant again and then dismissed it. Then contemplated shaving my head to keep from having to wash my hair..dismissed that thought as well. Then contemplated eating the rest of the cookies I made the other night..dismissed (but up for further debate). Contemplated staying in the shower till the hot water ran cold, but that's a horrible way to end a shower..dismissed. Contemplated getting out of the shower to grab a new bar of soap cuz the one I had was super tiny..that would be cold. Dismissed. Contemplated, again, selling a kidney (and maybe one of the dogs') so I could get to Fiji. Dismissed. Contemplated getting out of the shower to get Chris' razor so I could shave my legs (not head, that was already dismissed.), but that means I'd have to stop standing in the shower doing nothing. Dismissed. Contemplated turning the water off and getting out of the shower to help save the earth. Dismissed, I like showers. Contemplated yelling for Chris so I could have someone to chat with about contemplations. Remembered I locked the bathroom door. Dismissed. I could go on with this for forever, but I'll stop.

It's cold in the game room. I'm covered up in a blankey, it's not helping. COLD!

Chris is helping Ashley with math. It makes me want to hurt myself, and others. I detest learning math. And she detests it. I feel her severe irritation. It transfers to my body instantly. I try to pretend that I'm not irritated for her. I smile. I stay silent. But we both know that it blows..and that Heaven can't come soon enough.

I'm excited for summer. Not sure if I've mentioned that.

Think I'm gonna have to re-evaluate the cookie decision. mmmyep, it's re-evaluated. I won't eat ALL of them. Just more than I probably should. Tomorrow's blog will be on the pitfalls of gluttony.

Until then..know I love you.

Last night after work Chris had plans to go out with his buds, so he dropped the kiddos off to me at work. I had to work till 5 because it was a cleaning the grandparent's house day. Anyway, the kids wanted to go do something and so I called my Mom to see what they were up to for the evening. She said come on over and she'd feed us. So, we did! She made fried boneless chicken cutlets and rice pilaf and a delish salad. I brought a tuxedo cake from Fred Meyer for dessert (it was delish)! Dad came down from workin upstairs and we all ate..then chatted and watched part of Big Daddy. Then the kiddos and I headed home. Got home by 8:30..read some books with the kids and looked at J's homework and then sent them off to bed. I tried to wait up for Chris but failed around 11:40. He said he got home around midnight. Dang! Oh well.

Then we got up this morning and talked for awhile in bed about our nights and then had to get up and get ready for our mornings. Chris had to go to a drama practice for awhile and I had to work for awhile. Afterwards the kids and I came home and got Chris, we went and rented the Chihuahua movie, got some lunch and came home. Quickly after lunch I fell asleep in my cozy chair and Chris watched one of his shows. The kids did their chores. As usual, they have maybe 30 minutes worth of chores and have managed to spread them out over 3 1/2 hours (so far). Ridiculous. But, whatever. I think they might be done soon. We'll see.

Chris found out a few minutes ago that, although I am a Kevin Costner fan, I have not seen Dances With Wolves (I haven't seen a lot of his movies to be truthful). He's dumbfounded and says I have to watch it. He's recording it. I don't like Mary McDonnell (or whatever her name is) at all and she's in it..ick. But whatever, I'll watch it anyway. I saw a small part today where they were throwing sugar into the coffee mugs. Funny :) I doubt the rest of the movie is really all that funny. I don't like western movies for the most part..or war movies. For example, Born on the 4th of July..I'd rather have my toenails ripped out than sit through that again.

Ashley has made herself some dice shoes. She has big hard dice..the size of the dice you see in cars. And she has taken shoelaces and attached them to the bottoms of her feet. She's having a great time. I'm silently hoping she doesn't break her ankles. I figure all kids need some excitement..and this happens to be hers. haha (just fyi..btw..I don't like to use the word "die" I like to use the word "dice")

J is having fun of his own, rearranging the game closet. He doesn't want any ones help. He says he wants to make room for some more of "our stuff".

I've eaten only 2 Samoa's today. That's good, right? Much healthier than eating 2 SamoaN's. hahaha. Ok I'm probably in need of meds. But that was funny to me.

Ahh, turns out J is rearranging the closet because he's hoping to get paid. In this house you don't get paid for doing chores..you're part of the family, you act like it. But if you go above and beyond what a family member would be responsible for doing, you become eligible for some allowance (or Gallo Giro tacos if it's ME heehee).

Sometimes kids are like a swarm of bees. Loud, invasive, annoying and deadly. The kids are now officially done with their chores and are looking a lot like bees. We better entertain them before they overtake us completely.

Have a great weekend. Loves to you!

Getting tired of being so busy all the time. ALL THE TIME. I'm thankful to have a full life. But I would love to have a vacation, far from everything. Went on a small one with Val tonight in her blog..thanks for the journey :)

I'm cranky.
PMS'ing: check.
Tired: check.
Short fused: check.
Jerk: check.
Zombie: check, but not hungry for your flesh.

I am a person who thrives on routine. I always wanted to be spontaneous, and was to a certain extent..as long as it didn't interfere with my routine. LOL Anyway, I'd like to plan 14 weeks in Fiji as part of my "routine". Why 14? I don't know. Just sounds good. And not as drastic as the original thought of 14 years.

Told Chris I was leaving again the other day. He again reminded me that I can't b/c that would mean he would be left behind. I again reminded him that I would send for him. He still said no. hmm. Fine. And, yes, I always assure him that of course I will never leave..and he assures me that he knows. :) It's just a long standing threat Jess and I give to our loved ones. haha Our poor husbands.

I really think that Summer (and my period, for the safety of those around me LOL) just needs to come quickly. I cannot stand this winter drizzle dark crap any freakin more. It leaves every year and spring comes without fail and summer follows, again without fail. But, never soon enough. Today at work as Chase and I were watching the hail storm, I asked him why this was happening. He said that God did it. I said, "But I asked God for sunshine! What happened?" He giggled and said that the sun would be back and that the flowers would come out again soon. Funny how a 4 year old can put your whole world at ease. I wanted to pick him up and squeeze him and tell him that he's brilliant and that I love him, but I didn't. Don't wanna scare the lil guy. LOL

I don't know...I think "growing up" in California where 99.99999% of the days were warm and sunny and beautiful really spoiled me. I've just never gotten used to this Idaho weather. I've never felt like I belong here. But..I do. This is where our family is and this is where we belong. And, just for the record I would never move back to California, not for all the money in the world (no offense to my CA buddies). I just miss the sun, that's all. I hear Fiji has sun.

Well, anyhoo, tomorrow "Aunt Flo" should make her appearance and my PMS'ing will deflate and Chris will sing praises to the Lord and the kids will do happy dances around the living room an the dog will attack me with love..knowing that "mean scary Mommy" is gone for another few weeks. ;)

Love you guys!

Ranting, whining and pouting complete.

J's party went well today. Everyone had a good time, or at least pretended to! :) That's all I ask. haha Grammie and Grampie put out a huge spread of food..pizza, guac, taquitos, cheese dip and I think there was something else. I made the guac, it was stellar if I do say so myself! Then we had cake and ice cream..wait, I forgot the ice cream at home, we just had cake!

Anyway, he got a huge load of gifts and had a great time playing with everyone. He was a bit sad because his friend, Tyler, didn't make it to his party. But had a good day anyway. Then after the party we took him to Toys R Us to pick out a toy with some of his bday cash. Ash and I sat in the car with Sadie while Chris and J went into shop. They were gone so long I was simply forced to start eating more cake (I was holding the pan on my lap).

THEN on the way home I told Chris I needed a dream home fix, so we came and dropped Sadie off at home and then went back to look at "my" house. He only promised to take me if I wouldn't be distraught afterwards. I promised ;) It was just as beautiful as always, but now it's furnished so it was even more breathtaking..wait is that possible? Well, I guess it was. We stayed there for quite awhile. The kids hadn't seen the house before..they've been gone the other times we went. But, they both loved it. Ash and I have already moved in mentally.

After the house drooling was over, we took the kiddos downtown to the new "sweets shop" in Kuna. J bought lots of retro candy and Ash got a huge bowl of ice cream. They paid with their own money. The owners were very impressed by that.

Then we came home and have been relaxing ever since. Ahhhh, me likey. We're gonna play Apple to Apples right now so I better go. Love you guys!

OH, Matt & Laura leave for Mexico tomorrow (vacation, not mission), please pray they have a safe flight and vacation. Thanks!!

I got my picture :) And, look, she's smiling! Yes, that's a smile :) I went down on Friday night and took lots of them. This is the only one that turned out since my camera..well..I'll just refrain from even starting in on my camera. grr Anyhoo, it took a lot of bickering between the two of us (with both of us laughing while bickering) to get the picture consent. But, she finally did. This means, I win! :)

Dad put new carpet in her house, she just loves it. She took me into her room to look at things and when I walked in I saw that Grampa's bed was finally gone. *sigh* She seems ok with it. Said she gave it to Jon & Deanna for Monet to use. I told her the room looked great, and it does. But, it's just different. Like he's truly gone now. Although, his suit still hangs in the closet. She wants me to take the suit. I can't help but wonder if there are nights she takes it out and holds it in her arms, wishing for another moment with Grampa..smelling it, trying to get back to the days when he was wearing that suit, standing next to her. Wishing she could feel his hand on the small of her back again. Wishing she could interlock arms with him as they walked again. Wishing the Lord would take her home so she could see him again.

In other news..the kids have been gone all weekend. It's been great to have time with my hubby. He's such a sweet man, I can't even begin to describe to you how my heart overflows with love for him. Every day gets better and better. I'm truly blessed to be able to wake up next to him every morning. But anyway, yesterday he went to work with me (I only had to go for 3 hours) and after we got there he left to get us Starbucks (hazelnut coffee for him, refresh tea for me, chonga bagels for both..mine with extra cream cheese) and brought it back. Yummy! Then after work we went to Fred Meyer and I got some sunglasses..then onto Walmart to get stuff for J's birthday & got stuff for Easter, too..then to Los Betos to pick up lunch..then on the way home we realized we forgot to get chocolate so we stopped at Walgreens for some yummys. Once we got home we nestled in for a nice day of Damages! My fave tv show for those of you who don't know. Anyway, we'd missed 6 episodes and had them all recorded. We've made it through 5 so far. Chris got called for work, of course, so while he was gone I took a nap. Then later we had dino nuggets and tater tots and salad for dinner :) I know, classy. haha

Ash is home now, just got here..is talking non stop about her weekend..she had a great time! I'll have her blog about that later :)

Well, I better get going. Have a great week guys! Love you.

dont feel good

Hi prayer buddies!

One of our close family friends is fighting a severe infection and needs your prayers. He is going in for more tests so that the doctors can determine what exactly it is. He and his family are believers and know that God can do all things, so we just ask that you join us in believing for complete healing in his body.

Thanks so much. I will keep you updated as I hear more.

Sarah

So I was gonna post pictures for you of our last JBQ competition but I guess I left the camera in the car and Chris and Ash have already left for drama practice. Oh well, maybe next time!

I'm just so very tired. Wanted to share that with you. I found myself standing still head in hands today many times. Just imagining myself far away. Me, Chris, A, J, and Sadie..far away. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere with no phones. No computers. No obligations. Not for forever. Just for a good long while.

Corinne's Grampa (paternal) passed away on Saturday, so she's again devastated. Her Grandma (maternal) just passed away 4 months ago. She was very, very close to both of them so she's really having a hard time. It's making work very difficult. She's again, just like she did for her gramma, making a tribute video..at work. And writing obituaries, at work. It's just horrible. I cry easily anyway, I don't need help! She got me going a few times today. They leave for Port Townsend (where he lived) tomorrow and will be back on Sunday night. They'll have the Military service there and then next weekend they will have another service here in Boise.

It was sad. She has hundreds of pictures of all of their family together..extended fam, etc. I don't have that. I hate that I don't have that. I pout because I don't have that. I started thinking today..wondering..do I have a picture of me and my Grandma? I started to panic. Was contemplating leaving work to rush down to her house and take a picture of us together. What if there isn't time to get one before she's gone. And why is my life so stupidly busy that it makes it difficult to find 5 minutes much less an hour to get down there and back. I finally remembered that I have one. Not of just us, but I have one of us Mundy girls with her on her bday, on my fridge. I'm sure Mom has one or two (I tell myself I'm sure) of Gramma and I when I was a kid. I have to get down there and get a picture with her, very soon. But, what if very soon isn't soon enough. What if I don't get there before it's too late. I know a picture isn't everything. Sadly I can't think of a day anytime soon when I CAN get down there. On top of that she hates pictures (more than I do!)..so getting her to take one with me will be a fight. I know she won't smile in the picture..well, maybe she'll surprise me. She always tells me, "I can't smile". I tell her, "YES you CAN, and you WILL!" *sigh* enough.

J was sick all weekend. It was gross. He went back to school today. It was the Valentine's Day party. He only ate one candy, all is well :) I think he was just sick b/c he ate nothing but crap on Saturday. My kids aren't used to eating junk..and he is really sensitive to it. Every time we have a huge junk eating day, he is pretty much guaranteed to be throwing up.

Ash threw her back out last week, Chris had to take her into the chiropractor on Monday. Today is the first day she has had no back pain. Glad she's doin better.

Tuesday I got my teeth cleaned (yippee) and Ash got her stuff done for the braces she will be getting in a few weeks. I also got my bite guard yesterday so that I won't be grinding my teeth anymore. It's super sweet and you can't even tell I'm wearing it. I was so excited. Everyone should have one! And after insurance paid their part I only had to pay 39 bucks for it! Even sweeter.

I don't want to go through the rest of the weeks activities or I will cry. Just know that it's very busy and we will be having fun but we will be wishing like none other to be home and relaxing.

No matter what, though, I just always come back to how very thankful I am for the life I have and the family that I get to share it with. Getting to share the craziness and busy life I have with people who never leave is just a wonderful thing. I'm truly blessed, and I'm thankful that the Lord has entrusted me with so many things. Even when I doubt I can handle it, He doesn't. And that makes it all better. If Daddy says I can do it, I CAN!

Well, I gotta go take a shower and get ready for church now. We're thick into Revelation. It's a really good study.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week. Love you bunches.

Sarah

Good evening :)

It's already Wednesday, yay! Can't wait for Friday. Just seems like it's been a reeeeeaaaaaalllly long week. I'm sure most of you can identify!

Blog commenting is down. Way down. Is it like the economy? LOL I see lots of bloggers commenting on the lack of commenting. So, come on! We need approval! Just kidding. But, it is nice to hear from you. I have to admit, I've been very bad at it, too. But, we're not talking about me here. HAAAAAAAAa Ok, maybe I've had too much sugar. I amuse myself.

I watched The Family That Preys today. Ooh, it's good. Rent it. Even if you hate Tyler Perry, you will like this one. Promise :)

Deanna, Ash, Monet and I went out to Corinne's last night for a jewelry party. It was fun to hang out together. We had some laughs and some good eats.

I was hopin to go out with Kristi for a bit tomorrow afternoon but the blasted tax return just keeps not showing up. Supposed to be here this week. We'll see! We're trying to do a little Valentine's Day shopping. Yay! Valentine's Day is fun :)

J has another JBQ meet this weekend. It's his second to last match. Oh how the time flies! Ash goes through May I think. Anyway, he's all studied up and ready to go. Hopefully he'll achieve his goal of quizzing out this time. He works so hard, and gets so very close!

Then Sunday we have our normal morning duties with jbq/tbq and church and then something after that with something down there. Blast if I can remember. Then that night Chris and Ash have all the drama practices and A has TBQ practice and we have to figure out how to attend the leadership meeting that is going on during the drama practice. Hmm..we weren't even gonna go until Pastor Stan reminded everyone at church that leadership means if you do anything..from nursery to pastoral staff. Oh, yeah, I guess we should probably go then. LOL

A girl in our church (we've never met her that we can think of) accidentally shot herself yesterday morning and is down at St. Al's. Last we heard the bullet was lodged in her neck and she had no feeling in her legs. That they were trying to figure out how to do surgery to remove it and do the least damage. The prayer request email described her as the "daughter of" so we figured she was a kid. But then today my Mom said she looked in the paper and saw that she is 27. Strange. It was ruled an accident. I'm wondering if maybe she's in a job where she needs a gun and had just gotten home? Oh well..no matter. She seems to be in a great mood from what they say, doing very well and is very alert and talking, etc. We haven't heard any updates so far today. Maybe pastor can give us an update at church tonight.

I need to get Chris a binder of some sort for his drama stuff. He thought he had one but can't find it I guess. Poor guy was goin to practice tonight with a fist full of papers and a pen. Anyone who knows Chris for 5 minutes knows that that is driving him flippin insane!

I want to make banana bread but don't have enough time before we have to leave. Such is life. :)
Maybe tomorrow..maybe not.

Our family friend Carolyn is coming to visit the second weekend of March, can't wait to see her. She's so fun and funNY to be around, and makes a mean salsa. We're gonna celebrate Matt's bday that weekend I think. Cuz he and Laura are gonna be in Mexico for his actual bday. They invited us to go with them to paradise but dangit where's the money when you need it! ;) When I finally do get to go to paradise they're gonna have to pull me off the beach kicking and screaming. ;) One of my customers at work is trying to talk me into a cruise. We'll see. I'm getting closer, but not all the way there yet.

My friend Jess' Nana (great Grandma) is having heart troubles, please keep her in your prayers. She's up in age, but never seems like it. She still mops her own floors and everything! She's lived alone since Jess' Mamo (Jess' gramma, Nana's daughter) passed. Anyway, Jess says the doctor's cant figure out what it is that's causing the trouble.

My Mom is home with a headache again. Poor thing really needs to catch a break. She had that flu bug for soooooo long and I think it's just taking her awhile to get back on track. Of course us Mundy women do enjoy non stop headaches anyway, just par for the course.

Dog crapped all over the garage today, just to bless Chris' morning. She had no reason to, just felt like it. :) Well, I don't think she'll feel like it again very soon.

We're planning a trip to Montana in August to visit our family friends who I haven't seen since Ash was probably 1 yr old. So excited for a family vacation, and for Jaden to meet my "God parents". I think I actually have a few of those ;) Ash doesn't remember them, obviously, so it will be fun for her. I'm just excited to get back to Montana and enjoy the magnificently amazing scenery. I absolutely adore it. We've got lots of plans for the time there and hope to be able to fit it all in. Can you believe that the 4 of us have only been on ONE other vacation together? Other than that the summer will hopefully be filled with camping trips, if the gas prices stay "low" that is.

Anyhoo..on to other things! I'm healing up very quickly, back feels pretty dang ok! We'll see how I feel after cleaning on Friday, but for now I'm doin good. The stitches on my face and neck are healing up quickly, too. I'll go back to Doc Rogers in a month to have a final check up, but am doing great. He's super pleased with how everything has gone.

Today the weather was amazing. My car told me it was 56* out. I don't know if that was true or not, but I'll take it. It was sunny and breezy (windy in Kuna, of course) and not too freezing. Wonderful. Made me think about camping and fishing.

Well, I'm gonna go. Gotta leave for church in a few. Have a good night. Love you

I have a colllld.

(insert whining voice here)

I have no idea who that kid is, but she looks like I feel. My stupid right eye won't quit watering..I'm sneezing like crazy. My head is like Violet's body when she turns into the huge blueberry in Willy Wonka. It's likely to explode with snot. Waah. Poor me. ;) Corinne, MaryBeth, Claire, Courtney and I all have it..which makes work fun. We're a bunch of snotty buckets..but we're still having fun. Well, MaryBeth and Claire stayed home today.

Anyway, I just wanted to whine. Have a good night! Love ya

P.S. I just got the call from Dr. Rogers office..tests came back on the moles (even the name of them is gross) and I'm still cancer free! :)

Got my stitches out today! Woohoo :) It was extremely painful to have them removed because of the kind of stitches he did. He did them in such a way that there will be no stitch marks on my skin so he had to pull them out from the inside. HOLY GOD. I asked him multiple times if he was killing me. He insisted he wasn't and offered numbing agents which I refused, of course, b/c they cost money. He was extremely pleased with the results as am I! I haven't seen the actual scar yet b/c he covered it back up with pieces of tape, but I can see everything but that. There's barely a dip at all and no bumpy-ness in the incision whatsoever. Doc Rogers was overwhelmingly pleased with the results. Said they were above and beyond what even he expected. Hey, who says prayer doesn't work! :) So, he put tape back on it, like I said. He'd like me to keep going back every few weeks to get new tape put on for the next few months. If I do this I guess the scar will be extremely minimal. He said it's just up to me how far I go with it. We'll see..I don't much care if I have a scar, but if all it takes is tape to make it "less" then maybe I'll stick with it for awhile.

While I was there, he also took off the 3 moles that I hate most on this ol' body of mine! The one on my neck hurts most at the moment. I get the tape and stitches off of the two that required it on Tuesday, the other one he just cauterized after cutting it off. He'll of course send them in for the ol cancer tests, too..prayerfully they will come back all clear.

To top off this amazing day, the sun came out!! I was grinning from ear to ear all day, just couldn't stop myself. When I looked outside this morning as the sun was making it's glorious appearance I instantly felt a 1000 lb weight being lifted off of me. I could breathe again. Amazing how sun can change your whole life. I must have sun!! I'm not a cloudy day girl. More than that, I'm not an inversion girl. I thought about going up the mountain to see the sun last week but told Chris I couldn't handle knowing I would have to come back down into the filth of the valley. So, I stuck it out.

We had a few hours yesterday between church and drama practices (4 hours) to have our little Thanksgiving dinner here at the house! Chris has been wanting to have it since Thanksgiving, just never had the time. But, I wanted to make Chris a special dinner to thank him for everything he's done for me and the family after my surgery. Of course he ended up having to help a lot since I spaced the fact that I can't cut potatoes or lift crap! But we made it a joint effort and I made the pumpkin pie. We had a great time. Then I took him down for his first drama practice. Later the kids and I went down so Ash could begin her drama practice and so we could attend the membership class at church. J and I decided to stay for the rest of drama practice. J played with all the kids in the game room and I watched the Drama kids do their thing. They are so funny. They had me laughin all night. Then we came home and with bleary eyes watched one of our Friday Night Lights shows and then passed out.

Chris did the taxes last night when we got home, too. I know, he never stops. Anyway, we should get the return soon and then hopefully the ground will be thawed enough that we can hire someone to come plant the beautiful trees and bushes (huge) that my Dad gave to me!

Oh, on Saturday Ash did awesome at her TBQ match in Nyssa. She almost quizzed out a few times. They had a great day and from what I hear a FABULOUS lasagna lunch served there, too. I was going to go but we all decided I shouldn't chance going on such a long trip right now, so I stayed home with J. It was a gloriously quiet day. The phone didn't ring, the doorbell didn't ring. We just hid, and loved it. We watched The Hunchback of Notre Dam, and played Ziggity (a card game) and had a special breakfast. I even got to take a little nap! Then we went out when Chris and Ash got home for a bite to eat and to get Dave's bday present and a few things for our Thanksgiving dinner the next day.

It was another busy weekend but we had a great time and made lots of memories. :)

This weekend looks to be another fun packed weekend. We've got game nights planned with friends on Fri and Sat and then Sunday, well..Sunday is a day all it's own, but I'm gonna hope to have time to go down and visit with my Gramma and parents, we'll see. And, I have to go grocery shopping sometime in there. Hmm. Ash has a bday party on Saturday, too. Ok, I'm gonna stop thinking about the weekend right now b4 I get too overwhelmed!

Well..both kids are doin great, we're doin great, the animals are doin great. :) But, now I'm super sleep(ier) so I'm gonna go to bed. Have a great night. Love ya!

Feeling much better with every day, thank goodness! I still got teary last night after my "bath" and hair washing..it's just freaking exhausting I tell you! But I even got to drive myself to work today :) I ended up having to jerk the door open to the office though and that my friends did not feel too hot. But, on the good side, I'm wearing jeans that I can now button/take off/take on withouth pain, & I'm wearing a bra that I put on by myself! YES! I'm even wearing a vest today, it doesn't feel the best to get it on but I can do it dangit! It's not taking me 5 minutes to go pee and wash my hands anymore (as if you want to know that). So, things are getting back to normal. I've yet to be able to wear tennis shoes but, that's no big sacrifice considering I hate shoes. And I'm slowly beginning to be able to feed myself without looking like a freak.

Tonight Ash and I are goin out to Olive Garden for DeAnna's birthday. Laura wanted to plan a surprise get together for her, so Mom and DeAnna's Mom are going to go "kidnap" her and then Ash and I will wait at Olive Garden for the table. Laura ended up not being able to go b/c she has class tonight, but oh well. We'll get to see her sooner or later! It should be fun. I'm not too terribly excited to sit on the wooden benches for that long waiting for the table but hopefully it won't be too long and hopefully there will be comfortable chairs at the tables. At any rate, I'm sure it will be a great night. And then I will come home and go straight to bed. While we are at dinner (Chris is driving us there), Chris and J are gonna go out for their own little dinner and probably Toys R Us time.

Well, have a great night. Just thought I'd update ya on what we're doin real quick like b4 we run out again. Love you :) And, as Jerry Springer would say: Take care of yourselves, and each other.

Today was my first day back at work. It was a lonnnng day but good. I was really ready to be home. I came upstairs and went straight to bed. Haven't been out for more than a pee break since then. WORN OUT!! I'm thankful that I work in an environment where if I need to lay down on the couch or rest or go home that it is REALLY ok. My boss bought me thai food for lunch and told me to go upstairs and eat and rest for awhile. So, I did. But u know how that goes. The instant your body thinks you're letting it rest, it REALLY doesn't want to get up and cooperate again!

My friend Kim brought over some delicious homemade chicken lasagna for us last night. I will post the recipe for you when I get it. I'd never had it before. Wow. The yum factor was off the charts. Then Chris brought me up a surprise dessert of lava cakes with whipped cream. Good God I love him. Tonight we had left overs and then he made me some of our favorite brownies with a fudgy icing and then some cookies and cream ice cream on the side. He loves me. He loves my ever growing backside. Hey as long as he's happy, I'm happy! Bring Momma the brownies!

Took a washcloth "bath" last night, between that and the time it took Chris to wash my hair over the sink and dry it, it took an hour. I started crying not long after that. He again reminds me that I've just had surgery and it's ok not to be able to do things. Doesn't make me feel better but it's nice that he tries :) Better than hearing your man tell u to get your lazy butt up, right? I am the kind of person that reallllly is used to doing everything on my own and enjoys not having to rely on others for things. I do ask for help when I need it but I try to be as self sufficient as I can. So this is very very hard for me. It's worse than the pain. Just emotionally draining. But I'm so thankful for my family and friends. And I'm so aware that my struggles are teeny tiny compared to those of others. But, whether they are small or large, they are mine and I have to deal with them. The results came back on the lipoma and there were no signs of cancer, so that was great! I had completely forgotten about the whole cancer issue. Once I got prayed over and the MRI showed opposite results of the ultrasound I just gave it to God and praised Him for the healing and moved on I guess! LOL When the nurse called and started telling me about it I was totally clueless. She thought I was crazy. Maybe she doesn't know how big my God is :)

Chris had to take me to work this morning b/c I can't drive yet. He had to open the door to work for me and then push on it so I could lock it after he left. I was feeling SO FREAKIN useless. I just sat in the dark of the office (the lights take awhile to warm up and fully turn on) and cried and cried. Continued to tear up all day. I can hardly even write. I know, pity party. Get over it! I annoy myself.

So I've watched a ton of Lifetime movies in the past few days :) And Hallmark movies..and any other girl movies I can find. Also watched National Velvet, which I guess classifies as a girl movie. I've watched hours upon hours of home shows..my pup has been by my side for nearly the whole time. She walks with me when I get up, she sits lovingly looking at me, she rests her head on my legs and looks up at me. She kisses me. I just adore that sweetie. She's even refrained from laying in doorways in the dark! So for now, her attempts at murdering me are on hold. haha

J did great at his JBQ quiz last Sat. He got 4th place overall and the team took 2nd in the group. Proud of our little kidlets. Chris has been filling in for me while I've been out. The kids adore him. Of course, what's not to love!

Today is DeAnna's bday..Happy Bday DeAnna!

I was so excited that both kids had the day off from school yesterday in rememberence of the great Dr. King. I've always had to take them out of school for that day. Not only that but J brought home work they'd done on him. Maybe America hasn't completely gone down the crapper just yet. We'll see.

Well it hurts to type this long so I'm gonna go. Love you guys

Surgery is fun.

Post-op isn't as fun.

The drugs were ok for Thursday and then for part of Friday. Started feeling not so right when I increased to 2 pills on Friday night. But by Saturday they started doing horrible things to my body and heart and by mid morning on Saturday, I wasn't peeing more than 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time (about every 4 hours) and was all swollen in water gain. This was weird since I was drinking a ton of water. I started really going downhill by around noon, of course this is also when Chris and J are in Twin Falls. Didn't wanna scare Ash so I just went in to bed with my body in serious pain (shoulder was totally fine) and lights flashing everywhere (it was dark, no lights on) and prayed hard. My mouth was totally dried out and my lips were totally dried up and nasty. At this point I hadn't peed since I could remember and my stomach hurt to the touch. The back of my neck if I touched it made me feel like vomiting and sent my eyes into a dark fuzzy haze. My head was in the worst pain of my life and I couldn't focus on anything. I had decided not to take any more pain pills (was set to take them at 12:30) felt that "still small voice" not so still and small telling me NOOO MORE NORCO. I kept praying and fell asleep. I slept most of the day and by the time Chris got home I was doing much better, thank God. AND, I was finally peeing! I would drink water and could feel it travel all the way down and had to pee within 30 seconds. Not kidding! I was half wondering if there was a hole in my stomach. So anyway, I don't know what the Norco was doin to me,but I know it wasn't good. I told Chris that no matter how bad I'm in pain I will never take it again. EVER. I took one tylenol last night before bed. Because of my hips, not because of my shoulder. I haven't taken anything today except for the antibiotic and my trusty stool softeners. FUN. :)

ANYWAY, my shoulder really feels fine. I try to stay still. If I move my arm it doesn't feel so hot. I can't hardly even wash my hands b/c I cant rub them together! Weird. This typing is the most I've done besides wash my hair this morning, well I washed the right half and tried to wash the left half. I didn't want to wait for Chris so I tried to do it on my own. Probably should have waited! haha, he was down making my breakfast :) The washing of my hair wore me out and I slept for a few hours. But otherwise the only pain I've had is feeling like it's really bruised (go figure!) and it itches from time to time. Like I said..it hurts if I move so I don't move. I'm taking my own advice..when the kids say, "My foot hurts when I move it". I say, "Then don't move it!" I'm finding that is very good advice. :) So far no oozing or bleeding that we can see from the bandages. We aren't allowed to take them off. Which is driving me nuts. I can't shower till I get the bandage off which is on the 26th, which is 11 days post op. Which is disgusting. I can take a very very shallow bath. Hmm..not sure what good that would do me. I've been using wash clothes and wetwipe type things.

My hips are on fire. Thank you Mundy family genes! I slept for about 30 hours in a 36 hour time period when I got home and my hips have been crying ever since. I'm able to sit up for longer periods of time now, and lay almost on my back so that is helping.

It's amazing how completely worn out I am even though the parts of me that are supposed to hurt, don't really hurt (unless I move)! Mentally draining I suppose.

I don't think I'm goin in to work tomorrow. If I feel well enough I might try a few hours, but probably not. Will definitely go in on Tuesday though. Not sure if I will be able to drive since I can't really move my arm. But Chris can take me if need be.

Thanks to those of you who brought meals, and for the prayers and concern and texts. I've answered them as best I could. Today's the first day I've been able to type! YAY! Anyway, I've really enjoyed the quiet and privacy. We're doing great here, no worries. Today we've all been able to rest and have time together which has been the best part of all of this. Thanks for being understanding in our having the phones off, etc. In times like these I find that quiet is the best "medicine".

OH, I didn't have to get the drainage tube thing so that was great :)

Chris & I will continue to keep you updated as we have time..maybe even take pics when the bandage comes off for your viewing pleasure :) But anyway, just wanted to write and let you know that all is well, that we are all doin fine and are well taken care of.

Love to you all

OK, first blog of the new year..pardon me for being a few weeks late with it :)

Seems every day has been filled to the top with something to do. Fun things, not so fun things. Enjoyable things, not so enjoyable things..u know, the usual!

Ash decided to try the charter school because that's where all of her church friends are. She couldn't decide if she wanted home school or the charter school (it only goes through 8th grade) but after her Mom ordered mandatory "think about it for 2 days" time period, she decided to go Charter school. She's loving it. Its the same school I used to clean, if you'll recall. Anyway, it's much more strict and the work is much harder so it actually makes her think! It's actually right at her level instead of being so far below as it is in the regular public schools. J is on the waiting list and can't wait to get in. We're hoping that there will be a spot for him in 2nd grade this fall. He's at the top of the waiting list right now. But, anyway, A will do the charter school deal through 8th grade and then move on to home school. We're excited, but more importantly, she's excited. She's also enjoying learning spanish in the charter school. They start teaching spanish there in I think 3rd grade or so. Maybe earlier.

My surgery is on Thursday. Thanks for all of the concern and offers to help! We have great friends and family and church family. I am positive we will be just fine and have all of our needs more than taken care of. But if we should need any of you, we will most definitely call! I promise! I'm looking very much forward to this all being over so I can get back to my life. I don't like being kept down against my will! Then again, it will be FABULOUS to sleep for 4 days in a drug induced haze of la la land. :) No worries..hopefully no pain (please?)..just sleep. Oh, and possibly emptying a drainage tube thing. *PUKE*

Ash will most likely be getting braces in February, Dr. Haws says he wants to take films and everything but that her case looks extremely simple and should take only 6 mos to a year to complete. Possibly only having to do the top teeth.

I can't think of much else. We've had birthdays up the wazoo and they're not stopping anytime soon. But, it's so nice to be a part of every one's day. Being born is important you know!

Speaking of birthdays, A's 13th bday party went of without a hitch, except for maybe those pesky candles. My brother and I were both choking back the swear words I think, trying to light those suckers! I promise to post pictures soon. My goodness I can't believe I'm so behind!!!

Well, dinner is ready so I better go. Have a great night and I promise to try to be better at blogging :)

Love you!

It's cold in the ol' office.


Here's a pic I took of my Sadie in the snow yesterday..or maybe the day before. Yeah, that one. Hmm..actually I think it was on Saturday. Time is slipping away..

Isn't she precious :) She loves to pounce on, dig in and eat the snow. In this pic she had just gotten done digging and eating with her snout. The snow was up to her belly in certain areas of the yard this day. It was fun to see her galloping through it.

I can't remember when I last wrote but it was probably well before Christmas. Well, we had 6 Christmas' in all. Each lovely in their own way. Having every celebration separate was tiring but so much more enjoyable. Then we had Chris' birthday with his buds on Saturday night. The kiddos and I spent that night at Walmart so they could spend all their cash that they got from Christmas. They had a blast. Then we came back home, I made cakes for the next day. Sunday was Chris' family birthday party. The house was full, and we're good with that. Nice to have people over. Even though I usually find myself shoved into a corner somewhere b/c the noise starts to push me inward. But, I did pretty well and really enjoyed the time. Oh, and Chris did too :) Then after everyone left we went out and did some more shopping..came home, ate and collapsed.

Then Monday it was back to work for me and back to sleeping in for Chris and the kids. ;) My day was SOOOOOOOO busy. But, it went by fast. Today was pretty busy, too. I find myself very worn out. In the mornings I'm so tired I find the tears coming quickly to my eyes. But, I'm thankful for my job and for the home and food it provides. A few days of solid sleep would be swell :) Funny, whenever I get the chance to sleep in I can't. Danged inner clock never goes on snooze until the work days return.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I can hardly believe it. I'm just barely feeling that it's time for Thanksgiving! Wow am I behind. Anyway, after I get home from work we are goin over to some church friends' house who also happen to live a block down from us (my fellow jbq coach). Gonna play games and eat our hearts out and just enjoy a nice evening. Our kiddos all get along great and we don't have to worry about what they're hearing/seeing, etc. I'm just hoping I can stay up till midnight. I will do my best, scouts honor.

New Years Day will be our ONE day out of the entire Christmas vacation and Chris' vacation of which will belong solely to Chris, Sarah, Ashley and Jaden. It will be freaking marvelous. I am SO anticipating this special day. Then Friday I go back to work. Saturday we have my bro Jon's birthday and Sunday is always busy.

Oh, did I show you the awesome picture of my niece Monet with Santa? DeAnna took it and then I made it all fuzzy and glowy..

I gotta tell you, I am not a Santa fan in the least. But, this picture is priceless. He's the Santa that Terry & Lana (our friends who let my fam board their horses at their house, etc..) hire every year. He shows up towards the end of the Christmas get together and gives all the kiddos presents.

Yesterday was my Grandpa's birthday, as you know he's passed away. It's always strange to have that day without him. But, I'm sure he was up playing a round of golf in heaven ;)

Well, I guess I'll let you all get back to your lives now. Love you and thank you so much for the cards and gifts and time given over the Christmas holiday. Your presence blesses us. We are working on thank you cards, but until then remember we love you and appreciate you.

Nighty night

The blog is still showing up strangely to me. I thought maybe I just had too much stuff on there so I went and took almost all of my graphics down, etc. Still looks weird but less exciting :( I hope you folk can see what we're writing about. Cuz when I open the page I see pretty much nothing on the left hand side.

Anyway, it was a long week. I'm glad it's the weekend, not that it's brought any rest. But, it's the weekend regardless and that's nice. In the very near future I would really like a day where from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep there is not one place we have to go or one thing we have to do. Where all 4 of us are home. I NEED IT & I WANT IT. And, I'm fighting off throwing an infantile fit most of the time b/c I can't seem to have it. But, I'll try to put my big girl panties on and get over it.

Yesterday I had to work for a few hours, it was nice and quiet. Not even one phone call! The kids went with me and Chris went out to exchange a few gifts we had bought for the kids. He came back and helped by labeling things. Aww what a sweetie :) Then we went to Mom n Dad's to put our Christmas ornaments up and ate lots of yummy lunch. Then we laid around and chatted for awhile by the fire. Then it was time to go to my Gramma's house to get all the info from Uncle Don about the CAR HE JUST GAVE ME!!! Can you believe that? He said that families with children need 2 cars and that he was giving me his. WOW. Thank you Jesus was all I could think. We don't need 2 cars 90% of the time but there are those times when only having one car creates problems. Also, not having to come all the way out and pick the rest of the family up b4 we go somewhere will be nice. Now we can just meet if need be. Will also save me lots of gas once winter's over b/c then I can drive it to work and get great gas mileage. It was a total blessing, we are just so very thankful. Anyhoo, then we came home, I squeezed in a 30 min nap (which as u know only makes a person MORE tired) and then got up and ready and went to Terry & Lana's for the annual Christmas party. It was fun. Loud. But fun. By that time I was soo overstimulated, I just wanted to go home. Everything inside of me was begging to go home. I looked at Chris and he said, "Are you ready?" YES. I told him I just wanted to go home, to be at my home. And, of course, my eyes start flooding. He tells me to turn off the waterworks, he'll go round up the kids. haha About 30 min later we got to go home. I can't tell you how much I LOVE BEING AT HOME. You probably know this already. As soon as I get here it's like all the weight comes off and I can just "be".

This morning we got up to snowy conditions. Nothing too bad. An inch or two. Went off to church and had a nice time. It started snowing while we were there and is still snowing now. But, the roads are good, and even I have to admit that it's pretty. Chris will take Ash back over later for her TBQ practice and then join her this evening for his/her drama practice. J and I will just hang out at home and relax. :) I have a project to work on for one of Chris' Christmas presents so this will be a good time to do that.

Tomorrow starts another week, it's supposed to snow all week long. But with it staying so cold it's really made my drives great. No slipping or slush or filthy streets. Everyone seems to be doing well, at least on our end of town. I pray it stays that way.

Christmas is in just a few short days and then Chris' birthday is in just a few short(ER) days after that! Then we'll have Jon's, Ashley's, DeAnna's and Dave's Birthdays in January as well, oh and Barbara's birthday is on Chris' birthday (or vice versa). I'm probably forgetting someone elses, forgive me. Ash has a big 2 days planned for her 13th birthday. Chris is planning a night with his buddies and then cake n ice cream with family the next day. Not sure what anyone else has planned. But, rest assured, we will be happy to show up for cake! :) We like cake.

Well, I'm gonna cut this "short" (haha). Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Find time to rest and time to smile and time to enjoy. Love you :)

Happy Saturday :)

We just got home from the TBQ match. WOW, LONG DAY. Didn't make it to Gabe's party. Considering it ended at 4, we would have only been able to get to the last 10 minutes of it, if we were lucky! Oh well, I'm sure he had a fabulous time.

The meet was great, Ash got THREE, count 'em, THREE quiz outs!!! We were all so excited. I was working the buzzer machine (the thing that counts all the time and such) so I couldn't be outwardly excited. Had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. She's still there now. Meridian invited our team (and I think the other ones, too) to stay after and have root beer floats and play board games. What a fun way to end the day!

I got my "wish" and my fam IS coming over for lunch after church tomorrow!!! Makes my heart happy. Well, actually, I haven't heard back from Matt & Laura yet. But Mom n Dad and Jon n DeAnna & Monet are coming! I'm making chicken enchiladas. Mom's bringin over some homemade guac and chips n salsa. Can hardly wait to eat! I guess I better get the chicken in the pot tonight so all I have to do tomorrow is assemble and put it in the oven. I'd assemble tonight but then the tortillas get soggy and that's just gross.

I've been grinding my teeth at night, which is why my jaw is in such pain. I had suspected as much, but it was confirmed the other night when Chris woke me up and said, "Honey, I think you're starting to grind your teeth!" It was an exciting moment. We've got an answer!! LOL Anyhoo, I think maybe in grinding I've knocked part of my filling loose or that there was a little extra filling "stuff" on the side of my tooth b/c there's an edge to it. Feels like there's a popcorn kernel there, but there isn't! I took a nail file to it today on the way home. It didn't do anything but rub my poor lip raw. LOL Chris knocked the file out of my hand and told me to quit it. Sheesh. Pushy, pushy. We swung by to see if Dr. Haws was still at the office but he was gone already. I'm not in any pain so I can't see calling him for an "emergency". Will just go in on Monday. In the mean time I've got to stop grinding my teeth! And in order to do that, life needs to slow down. haha, right.

I was asked today what we are doing on Christmas day. I didn't realize anyone cares, but you must! heehee And now I see on quite a few other blogs that folk are sharing their Christmas plans. So, I'll follow suit! Christmas Eve I have to work until at least 3 (unless I don't..which, I do) and then we'll go out to Caldwell for the annual tamale feed and time with Chris' Dads side of the family. Then we'll, after shoving our bellies full of goodness and laughter, drive home bleary eyed and cozy up in our beds. Then Thursday morning we will wake up and have our little family Christmas time together here at home, maybe have some toast n coffee/tea/hot chocolate..then get ready (which means put slippers on and brush teeth) and drive down to Mom n Dads. I say around 10 or 11..but if things happen as they usually do, we'll probably be up and opening gifts by 8 and out the door by 9. And, considering we have, I think, 8 gifts to open (which I'm NOT complaining about in the least, mind you!)..leaving at 9am is being generous! Anyhoo, then we get to spend the whole day/evening down there with them and my Gramma. Chris' Gramma Edens decided to celebrate with family on the day after Christmas so we won't be driving around everywhere on the 25th! We are excited to be able to have our own separate time with each part of the family..no rushing. Mendiolas...Mundys...Edens. ahhhh peace. So anyhoo, the day after Christmas I have to again work all day (till 5 unless I don't..which, I do) and then the Edens Grandparents are having a Christmas "Open House dinner" from 5-7. So we'll go over there and visit and exchange gifts. Chris' Aunt Teresa will be there, too, so we'll get to chat with her. I'm so excited! This will be the first year we aren't trying to cram everything into one day. We'll just get to relax. Then I think for the weekend we will just stay home and do nothing. I don't get any vacation time like Chris and the kids do, so it will really be our only family time during their break. Ok, so that's our day(s)! If you haven't already blogged about your festivities, please do! Now I'm all into knowing your business! HAHA

It's absolutely freezing here today and windy, too. If you walk outside you are instantly a popsicle and then when you get inside it takes a long time to warm back up again, even if you were only outside for 20 seconds! (which we did a lot of today, that's how I know!) It's snowing now, and has been for awhile but the flakes are soooo teensy weensy tiny winy that you can hardly see them!

Tomorrow is the kids' Christmas performances at church. YAY!! I know I've mentioned it probably one too many times so I won't mention it again..today.

Wow, I better get that chicken in the crockpot for tomorrow. Time is slipping away!!

Ok my brain just left my body. I was gonna tell you about something else and have no clue what it was. hmm Well, anyway, my buddy Kim's birthday was yesterday. She's livin in Texas now. Sure miss you Kim!! Hope you had a great day. Love you!

Thanks to all of you who have sent us Christmas cards. They are lovely, and so are you! I promise to get ours out soon. Maybe even this coming week!

Take care :)

Not sure why some of my blogs are shortened in the viewing area. Are they showing short for you, too? For instance, my last blog is only showin me a picture of Chris and J..nothing else. If I refresh the page then more of the blog shows up. Sometimes I have to refresh it 3 times!!


Oh well. It was another long busy week. Glad it's over. Realllly glad. I love my job but I love my home, too. We've got A's TBQ meet tomorrow and then have to go out to Nampa for Gabe's birthday party. Then on Sunday, we have the big drama performance on Sunday during church. I'm hoping to have my family over for lunch after church on Sunday but Mom's been sick so I don't know if she'll be up to it. I hope they can, I sure miss our "Mundy Family Dinners". We used to have them once a week but now with everyone's schedules (and how far away we live) we mostly just see eachother together on holidays. Lame. Anyhoo, we'll see how it goes. If they can't come over, fine. I'll just go take a nap instead! :)


J had his Christmas play on Wednesday. It was great. I couldn't help but think about Presley during the performance. How cute she would have been, and wondering what lines she would have had. Ash said she saw her Mom there (she has another daughter who goes to Crimson). Must be such a sad time for them. Anyway, J was a total ham and loved every second of the play. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleeeeeaaaasure.





And here are some pics from A's drama performance last week in Wilder! They are SO AMAZING!!!!! In case you can't tell, in the second picture the kids have created a human throne (the 3 girls on the bottom are not part of the throne) and Keeton is sitting in it. They do things like this all the time. In another part of one of their performances they create a human boat, barn, beds, chairs, cross, etc...





I finally finished the Christmas newsletter last night and am almost done addressing envelopes. I kept forgetting folk who I wanted to send cards to until I was done with the ones I had! HAd to have Chis get another package of cards the other night.


Well, I'm gonna go relax and enjoy the evening with my family. Hope you do the same! Love you :)

J just had his JBQ meet, we took 2nd place!!  Ash has her meet this Saturday, I'll be sure to take lots of pics for ya. Also, tomorrow Jaden has his Christmas play at school, did I mention he's gonna be Santa? We're gonna video tape it. I don't have an external microphone so the sound most likely will leave a lot to be desired but hopefully not too horrible!

This last Sunday we travelled with the Drama team to Wilder to perform for the Crossroads Assembly church there. They did all 3 of their dramas and did an amazing job. I have a few pics from it, will post them later. Had the church in tears at points and up on their feet jumping & clapping at others! Sign of a good show if you ask me.

My right shift key isn't working when I try to use it in order to make an exclamation point. How annoying to try to retrain myself to use the left shift key!!! >:(

My jaw has been really hurtin for about 2 weeks now. Been awhile since this has happened. I think it was this summer the last time. Anyway it's painful, gets worse at night. I must be grinding my teeth again while I sleep. Told Chris to punch me if he hears me doing it. It's mostly annoying b/c it's interfering with my eating. ;)

Well, I'm sleepy and don't want to be on the computer anymore. So I'm gonna go for now. Have a great night. Love to you all.

((hugs))

FIRST BLOG OF DECEMBER! WOOHOO!!!!

I really thought that Sarah would have blogged by now but I guess we've both just been so gosh darn busy lately. Anyway, I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd toss one out there. Some of you may remember me from blogs back in the day. For those that don't know me I am that wonderful man that Sarah is always gushing about. :D

So I cannot believe its December already. Almost one week down. We are so completely busy this month its unreal. The holidays are always a bustling time for us but this year we've got the added joys of the kids' drama and bible quiz. They have a blast and its so fun to watch them practice and perform/compete. It definately adds to the schedule but we're happy to do it. I'm glad they both found some activities they enjoy that let them get more involved at church and help them meet some great new people.

This weekend (Saturday) is the JBQ match for Jaden and his goal is a quiz out. He is determined after coming so close last time and narrowly missing it due to an equipment malfunction. He's gonna do great. On Sunday we'll be heading out to Wilder for Ashley's drama team performance. This is an advance performance of the one they'll be putting on for our church on the 14th. They've all been working hard and I can tell you its looking really good. If you can make it out to Kuna on the 14th you definately should. If not there should be a video coming out with all the performances on it, but nothing beats seeing it live.

Sarah and I have both been completely busy with work lately. Sarah's job is in the middle of moving to a new building so there's been lots of transition lately. She worked super late on Monday to help them finish getting everything over but most of it should be done now. The new building is closer to us which is good and cuts down on her driving time. I've been working hard getting everything done before we shut down for the holidays. Lots of projects to wrap up and whatnot. Still going through yet another re-org as well which probably won't be finalized until sometime after the first of the year, but for the time being we all still have jobs and we're told there are no changes (aka layoffs) being planned for anytime in the near future so that's good. So far we've weathered everything pretty well and even managed to post the best earnings in years. Our organization in particular did very well and we're actually looking at getting some bonuses/raises for the first time in 8 years! Praise the Lord!!!

In the midst of all this busyness, Sarah and I managed to get all of our Christmas shopping done! We actually finished it last weekend so we were done BEFORE December! Feels good to have that finished and not have to fight crowds at the stores and rush to finish. We've even got all our decorations up and the tree out. Just need to wrap everything and get x-mas cards out and then we can relax the rest of the month....well, one less thing to worry about anyway.

Jaden and I got our haircuts yesterday, FINALLY! We were some seriously shaggy beasts. Our good friend Kristi jazzed us up real good though and now we're back to our dapper, well-groomed selves. Thanks again Kristi, you're the best!

Well, that's about it for now. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season. We look forward to seeing as many of you as we can during the holidays and for those we don't see, know that you're always in our hearts and thoughts. Until next time, adios amigos!